Aston Martin's new DBS successor has been renamed the AM310 Vanquish and it borrows heavily from the spectacular One-77 coupe. It takes the very limited-edition (77 copies made) One-77's radical use of construction materials a step further. Carbon fiber makes up 99 percent of the AM310 Vanquish's body panels and it's used to construct the chassis, with the exception of part of the front structure. The new Aston goes on sale in Europe late this year and in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2013 as a 2014 model for a cool $279,995 to start.

Aston Martin has made great strides in using and manufacturing carbon-fiber chassis structures and body panels. The One-77 also has a carbon fiber chassis, but its body panels are a mix of carbon fiber and aluminum. The new AM310 Vanquish reportedly weighs about 3700 pounds, about 50 pounds lighter than the One-77. The outgoing DBS weighs 3836 pounds.

"In a way the Vanquish is the negative of the One-77," says Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman during a recent press preview for the AM310. "The One-77 has a carbon chassis with an aluminum skin; this is the other way around."

Though the new car retains the British brand's basic overall look and shape, especially out front, the Vanquish's design departs from that of the DBS. The deep draw body panels between the front and rear wheels enhance the coke-bottle shape while adding muscle to the wheel openings. Buyers can opt for unpainted carbon-fiber roof rails, door handles, and side strakes, which will show well when a light paint color is chosen.

"The front grille is our signature, and has been for 60 years, we have to have it. Aston philosophy is about evolving something until it's perfect," Reichman said.

Exterior door lock barrels have been hidden within the door handle structure. Splitters below the front and rear lower fascias come in unpainted carbon fiber. Headlamps feature a new "eyebrow" effect, and turn signals under the long headlamp covers meet U.S. standards and negate the need here for signal repeaters added to the lower front fascia of the outgoing DBS. The diamond-turned wheels, which are shod in Pirelli P Zero rubber, have black gloss-painted inner spokes.

Unlike traditional Astons, the Vanquish has "negative surfaces," points in the front and rear quarter panels that swoop down, adding to the car's muscular look. It ends in an elegant tail, with taillamps straight off the One-77. Aston says the rear spoiler area would not have been possible without using aluminum."For the rear spoiler, Dr. Bez [Aston Martin's CEO] asked us to make something that looked like it was impossible to make, and it was for the first six months," said Ian Minards, Aston's director of product development.One-77 inspired the interior, as well. The Vanquish has a higher H-point than the DBS, and combined with a more capacious interior, gives the driver the perspective of seeing past the end of the hood, rather than down along it. There's more head- and legroom and 65 percent more trunk space, and the center console is narrower and better integrated. Befitting a car in this price range, the Vanquish has a full grain leather interior and Alcantara headliner, 1000-watt Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 15-speaker audio setup, and a Garmin satellite navigation system with 6.5-inch LCD display.

The Vanquish is no baby One-77, however. Nor is it designed to one-up the competition in the horsepower race, though engineers have heavily reworked the DBS' 5.9-liter V-12 to squeeze 55 more horses for 565 in all, with 457 lb-ft of torque. The AM310 is expected to run from 0-to-60 mph in 4.1 seconds with a top in the neighborhood of 195 mph. Aston's Touchtronic2 six-speed automatic will be the only transmission choice, for now. Buyer demand could bring back the six-speed manual in a model Aston considers among its GTs, rather than sports cars.Although Aston isn't offering a manual to start, one area where it is staying old school is with its steering setup. "We'll definitely be sticking with hydraulic steering for the foreseeable future," Minards said. I've seen no evidence that electric steering can deliver the level of feel we're looking for."For those who'll miss the look and road-hugging weight of the "Casino Royale"-era DBS, Aston is building 100 Ultimate models, 25 to 30 of which will come to the U.S. Forget it if your local dealer doesn't have your name on file, though...the last of these James Bond cars is sold out.Rumored to debut at the Pebble Beach Concours in August, the AM310 Vanquish launches as a coupe, though a convertible should be available by the summer of 2014."What you'll notice about this car is that it's a more comfortable GT than the DBS, but also sportier when you want it to be," Minards said. We can't wait to notice the new Vanquish.

Im not sure about this. It's not an ugly car by any stretch of the imagination, but Aston's used to have a sort of "Apple" look to them, they were beautiful and had very clean lines. This car is a tad overwrought. The interior is absolutely stunning though. It's just that these cars are made for appearances primarily so that's more important than say a Ferrari's appearance.

In other publications thye mention top speed as 183 MPH.While I do not think top speed is an issue for myself and 99.9 percent of the buying public I do think that it is an issue for people who can afford to buy these cars.I am certain that the majority of the exotic car buying public will never test the top speed of their toy. However just knowing that it will be able to get to a top speed beyond the normal is the perception appeal to a lot of these buyers. People are enthralled with the idea that their Bently will top 200 MPH,Ditto Ferrari, Lamborghini etc.This ads to the exclusivity of owning these toys.So I think Aston made an error here. The Vanquish is lighter,more areodynamic, and more powerful than the DBS. It should therefore have a higher top speed for the simple sake of further exclusivety. Like or not Aston does compete with the rest of the supercar kingdom. To say they do not is putting their head in the sand like an ostrich.A higher top speed than a 991 Porsche Carrera should be mandatory.

Commermt is right, the Vanquish is stunning. Each iteration gets better than the last. I am "slightly" disappointed in the performance numbers, but really, there is nothing on the road even close to being as sexy as this. It may be the most beautiful GT car ever made.

So disappointing. A beautiful car but Aston continues its march as a second rate ultralux manufacturer. Like the other cars AM makes it will not stand up to other offerings in its class in any department other than looks and maybe comfort. At least we'll be able to buy in 5 years for less than half the price.

*facepalm* at the fact that there is a faster Volvo out and that Aston STILL uses the S40/C30/V50's nav system... And seriously? This more powerful, more torquey V12 (with still underwhelming stats) is STILL 17 mph slower than the Old Vantage...